


On My Side. (Eustass Kid x Captured!Reader)

by crapitskizaru



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, caring kiddo, kinda angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 11:32:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19106245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crapitskizaru/pseuds/crapitskizaru





	On My Side. (Eustass Kid x Captured!Reader)

You really didn’t want to pass out,  _again_. Already turned into a dull, pulsating sensation, the pain still overwhelmed your senses to the point where you found yourself at the verge of consciousness. 

It made your legs tremble, your muscles strain and lungs clench. And when a particularly strong wave of fatigue took over your head, leaving it thoughtless and delirious, your weak arms protested against the chains when the whole weight of your limp body pulled them down. 

Immediately, the action caused you to suffocate. Breath didn’t even get stuck in your throat - the transition was far more blunt. The air just stopped coming into your system, as if a pair of invisible, cold hands were wrapped around your neck. 

The inability to inhale started to feel paralyzing - and in just few seconds was enough to leave your mind taken over by pure panic. You barely registered your muscles starting to irregularly contract, the pain on your back almost gone at this point; only the hot tears running down your cheeks indicated you haven’t died just yet, since you could still taste their saltiness as it pinched your lips. 

Were it not for the familiar feeling of panic suddenly turning into rage, your body wouldn’t have gathered the last layers of energy to pull itself up again. How ironic, it was indeed rage that saved you yet another time.  _That_ kind of rage, which, at this point, you could only associate with different shades of red - starting from the flaming scarlet of his lips and ending with the blunt crimson of his hair - it all came down to that one particular person. 

You tried to focus on keeping your breath steady. Extensive waves of heat circulating in the tiny room certainly didn’t help in numbing your torture; since they hadn’t bothered to dress the wounds on your back, you could still feel the dried-up blood with every move of a muscle and the awful warmth of open flesh. 

Apparently, repeated use of a whip on a defeated and chained enemy wasn’t something the Marines wouldn’t ever bring themselves to do in order to obtain information. 

There was no way for you to measure exactly how much time have passed - hours kept turning into brief moments, but surely it must have been a few days. And after spending all of them under the deck of the Marine ship, you came to a conclusion that you didn’t want to be rescued anymore. 

Fists clenched, lips pressed into a thin line, the cruel spark in his eyes - it wasn’t hard to guess just how  _he_ is going to look like when he eventually finds you on the enemy unit.

He will come back for the captured members of his crew, that you were sure of. But after spending so much time together - you couldn’t tell whether it’s been months or years anymore - it wasn’t particularly surprising that you’d rather give up on your freedom than see the disappointment in his eyes; eyes of your lover but also captain, afterall.

Nothing else but plain fury has been gathering in your whole system ever since they managed to outnumber the part of Kid’s crew you were assigned to. It was boiling in your gut, filling your lungs and gripping your throat, just how could you let it happen?

The disgusting taste on your tongue kept pulling your thoughts into more worldly matters. Arms weak and bound by chains, body stiff from being forced into the same position for so long, the dizziness and colorful dots in front of your eyes already indicating there’s not much time left before you black out from exhaustion.

So when the sounds of footsteps emerged from the direction of the stairs, you prayed for their owner to be a Marine soldier, a vicious murderer even - just anyone but  _him_.

The steps were light, much more lighter than those of guards you’ve been hearing for the past days. A sudden need to escape clenched over your heart, but the heavy chains made you think twice about it, and the weakened muscles acted as yet another reminder of how low you and your pride have fallen.

You squeezed your eyes shut.

“Well?” His low murmur made your body flinch a little bit; you weren’t sure why. Were you driven by pure fear already? Or was it just relief from hearing a familiar sound? “And to think I had to kill my way through the entire fucking fleet just so you could  _choose_ not to look at me in the end. Tell me again, why did I even bother?”

With a shallow inhale, you pushed yourself to glance at the huge, tall figure standing just a few steps away. 

“I should be the one asking,” you breathed, feeling the energy draining out of your system from the effort. Those few words were all it took for your body to turn limp again, and the air was once more brutally pushed out of your lungs. 

It didn’t last long. Some strong force lifted you up, causing the chains to rattle and eventually clank, discarded on the wooden floor. 

“They didn’t even waste seastone on you.” 

Why was it so hard to speak? You wanted to pour all your thoughts out onto him, yell from frustration and cry for forgiveness - he valued honesty more than forced restraint. 

Instead of words, a sharp yell went past your lips when his hands brushed against the raw wounds on your back.

“Don’t say anything,” you eventually managed to rasp, the paralyzing pain clouding your mind. “Please, I just know I won’t handle it.” 

With the frantic searches of any kind of emotion in his eyes, you tried to find evidence of what you thought he wanted to say at this moment. How weak and incapable you were. How all those hours spent on training with him, trying to get stronger, were pointless and a complete waste of time, how he should just slaughter you on the spot instead of rescuing.

He was closer now. Arms moved to rest on your waist, being the only force that held you above the ground and not yet stumbling onto the floor into the puddle of your own blood; the usual warmth radiating off of him seemingly gone, his touch cold and heavenly - or maybe it was just the intense humidity in the air that took away your normal perception. 

And suddenly you were drowning in his embrace, your cheek pressed up against the side of his neck, hands trying to hold to his vest and hoist your entire body up, deeper into the sensation. 

The burning flesh on your back stung and throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the immerse feeling of safety the man supplied you with. Even though you lost, even though you were captured, even though you failed. 

“I found you alive.” His voice was quiet, barely audible, as if he was afraid it was going to crack. “All the others are dead.” 

People who were seized with you,  _friends_ who fought by your side until all the weapons were forced out of your hands? The sparkle of hope that fueled your will to simply hold on for all those days now died, in a blink, blown away like a candle.

“I should be dead like they are.” The tears appeared again, this time rushing down your cheeks like a waterfall. ”I-I should have died with them.” 

You hid your face into his neck and cried, weeped so hard that whoever was still alive above the deck could surely overhear you. The dull pounding in your head, the painful clench of your jaw, the wounds on your body, it all didn’t matter anymore. 

“No, no, I’m so glad-” he paused for a while, pressing his cold lips against your ear and strengthening the hold around you. His voice was now nothing else than a faint whisper. “-I’m so glad you survived.” 


End file.
